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THE ISSUE: State representative District 34 race. OUR OPINION: Ralph Massullo Jr. is the clear choice. A graduate of the West Virginia University School of Medicine and a practicing physician, Republican incumbent Ralph Massullo Jr. is the founder and president of Suncoast Dermatology, which has served patients locally for over 25 years.

Citrus County is known for its natural beauty, its lush landscapes, its natural first-magnitude springs, its clear water rivers and its clean fresh air. Our economy depends in part on the ever-increasing number of tourists who visit our homey small towns and natural attractions.

Citrus County doctors and other citizens got professional opinions on medical marijuana from of a trio of doctors at the conference, which was hosted by the Citrus County Medical Society Inc. and the American Academy of Continuing Medical Education Inc. at CF.

Throughout the years, I have had the opportunity to speak with many Citrus County natives. It’s enlightening to hear their perspective on how things have changed and their vision for the future of our community. We often talk about how just a few decades ago the rivers were crystal clear — and wouldn’t it be wonderful if they could be that way again.

I strongly endorse the reelection of Representative and Dr. Ralph Massullo, MD as the candidate for the 34thDistrict in the Florida House of Representatives. The main goal and aim of Representative Massullo is to bring principled leadership with a common sense approach to the mission of representing our district in Tallahassee. He has delivered significantly for us throughout his first term in office, and he stands ready to continue the hard work of representing all of his constituents in our state capitol in the years ahead.

Florida ranks among the worst states for health care, ranking 50th for percent of adults with health insurance, 47th for percent of children insured, and 38th for adults who have not visited a dentist during the past year.

An analysis sponsored by WalletHub, a personal finance website, reviewed 40 health care and financial metrics and scored Florida 42nd among its 2018’s Best & Worst States for Health Care. The study compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

NFIB, Florida’s leading small business association, today announced its state legislative endorsements for the 2018 election cycle. The endorsements were made by the NFIB Florida PAC, which is comprised exclusively of NFIB members. The NFIB Florida PAC is making endorsements in 17 Senate races and 59 House races.

Our Rapid Rehousing Program is funded through multiple grants as well as private funds from individual donors. One of the largest grants we rely on, The Challenge Grant, is provided through state dollars provided to the Department of Children and Families (DCF). These dollars were in jeopardy this year through a little snafu. The state Legislature provided spending authority to DCF for Fiscal Year 2018-2019 but did not actually provide the dollars to fund this important work. This oversight threatened to negatively impact thousands of Floridians who face the challenge of homelessness.

Upon hearing this news, homeless coalitions, continuums of care, and other advocacy groups banned together to contact our state representatives to help remedy the issue. I reached out to state Rep. Ralph Massullo, M.D., and state Sen. Wilton Simpson. They both jumped into action immediately.

Americans have always had a pioneering spirit, always being the first to explore a new area.

Many of the original settlers to our great country came from more developed lands in hopes to start a new life. That same spirit fostered the movement of people throughout our country.

In the process, transportation systems developed that facilitated the movement of people. Early trials, railways, and roads were built to promote commerce and open new territories. In some cases they even defined borders. In fact if it were not for the Canadian Pacific Railroad a portion of British Columbia might be part of the United States, but that is a discussion for another time. Suffice it to say that well-planned and developed routes of transportation have always been and will continue to be very important to all of us.

“Representative Ralph Massullo continually placed Florida families and businesses first. As an A-grade legislator, we know he will continue to be a leader in the Florida House,” Marian Johnson, Senior Vice President of Political Strategy at the Florida Chamber of Commerce, said. “The Florida Chamber is proud to endorse Representative Ralph Massullo for the Florida House.”

May 1, 2018 | Associated Industries of Florida Tallahassee, Fla. – Associated Industries of Florida (AIF) today released its 2018 Voting Records report and announced its 2018 Champions for Business award recipients. This year marks 43 years AIF has published its...

When our founders framed the Constitution they could not have imagined issues like self-driving cars, privatized space programs, net neutrality, clean air and water initiatives, high school graduation requirements, utility right-a-ways, or even Medicaid managed care funding. However, one thing they did realize is if a population of responsible people, who desire to govern themselves in a free society, elect competent individuals who will represent them in a democratic republic, then those elected individuals should be able to debate and craft laws that serve the best interest of those they serve and the greater good no matter what future issues they might address. That form of government is somewhat unique in all the world and the “experiment” of the United States of America has enabled us to become the envy of the world.

As a parent of four children, I have received phone calls that have literally brought me to my knees regarding unfortunate incidences in their lives, but I could not even begin to imagine what a parent might think or experience if they received a call informing them that their child was shot and killed at school. Tragically, on Valentine’s Day 2018, a day that usually represents love in America, that is exactly what happened to 17 families of children and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County Florida. Nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who was a former expelled student, entered the building, pulled a fire alarm and proceeded to indiscriminately shoot and kill 17 people and wound several others. That community, our state and nation are asking how does this happen and how can we better protect those innocent people in our schools, our churches, and where ever else these evil acts of violence are perpetrated going forward?

All of us like to give and receive gifts, particularly this time of the year. Occasionally we’ll receive that unique gift that we just don’t quite know how we may make good use of it. It could be an odd oversized sweater or a piece of art that really doesn’t fit our taste. We are grateful for the gesture, but often these gifts either get quietly exchanged or put away to a place seldom to be seen again. Sometimes however we may find a use for them that we didn’t predict and very often they become more valuable than we ever imagined. Industrial hemp is such a gift, not only to our community but to all of Florida.

For most of the country, Affordable Care Act open enrollment ended Dec. 15. Due to a damaging hurricane season, Florida residents have until Dec. 31 to sign up for health coverage in 2018. For Florida families, that’s extra time well spent to review their coverage and choose the plan that works best for them.

Mary is a 45-year-old patient in my practice with severe rheumatoid arthritis. She was incapacitated. Her illness prevented her from working, and also made it difficult to dress, cook, do housework and other everyday tasks that most of us take for granted. I treated her with three separate medications before we finally found one that worked. Just six weeks later, she was able to go off long-term disability, go back to work and begin living a more normal life again.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak with one of the lifelong residents of Citrus County. His family is so entrenched in our history that a good bit of the central portion of our county bares their name. I was in awe listening to his stories about the “old days” when most of our highways were little more that dirt paths wide enough for a farm truck.

Growing up, we all had ideas of what we wanted to become. Some of us wanted to be astronauts, some chefs, some nurses, some scientists, some carpenters, some policemen, some artists, some moms and some dads. We would proudly give an account of our desires to anyone who happened to ask because we thought our ideas were “cool.”

When I was growing up my mother seemed to always know exactly what was needed to solve any problem in our lives. Her advice and orders were usually succinct and direct. We complied and things got better. Interestingly, I still can’t figure out what that horrible tasting Cod Liver Oil actually did that was beneficial, but that’s another story.

Last January marks the 52nd anniversary of the ‘War on Poverty’ that began with legislation introduced by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. At that time the poverty rate in the United States was around 19 percent representing roughly 36 million people. Unfortunately, since then we have made little progress in combating poverty. In fact, while the population of our country has grown from 192 million in 1964 to over 320 million today, the real poverty rate has only modestly improved. Today, almost 15.4 percent or 48 million Americans live in poverty according the United States Census Bureau and that percentage hasn’t improved in over 40 years. Florida’s poverty rate is slightly higher at 16.3 percent. Citrus County’s poverty rate is roughly 17 percent which represents 24,000 individuals. These aren’t just statistics, they are our neighbors! One could easily say that we are not winning the prolonged ‘War’. The question is why?

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. So often we wake up in the mornings and are so preoccupied with our own plans and issues that we fail to realize the significance of any particular day on the calendar. But this day is uniquely significant, because it is set aside as a remembrance for the men and women who gave up their lives so we have that very freedom that allows us the liberty to direct our own.

Citrus County dermatologist Ralph Massullo, 58, has prefiled paperwork to become the first announced candidate for District 34 Florida House seat, held by Jimmie T. Smith. Smith is running for the state Senate seat that will be vacated by Charlie Dean.

I’ve been thinking a great deal about Gerry Mulligan’s column in the Dec. 14 Chronicle about his experience at a barbecue place in Central Florida. It saddens me to think that we still have prejudice and racism in our world, particularly here in the United States, where we pride ourselves on being the most inclusive, tolerant and accepting country in the world. By the way, we are that in spades compared to the rest of the world.